from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

n. (physics) a quantum of energy or quasiparticle that can be propagated as a traveling wave in nonlinear systems and is neither preceded nor followed by another such disturbance; does not obey the superposition principle and does not dissipate

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

While we have understood and appreciated that there is a rich bounty of physical phenomena contained in the theory, this has mostly been uncovered in perturbation theory, occasionally sweetened by a glimpse into the non – perturbative realm afforded by special sectors of the theory such as soliton solutions (including branes of various sorts) or various topological reductions.

These everlasting waves are exotic enough, but theoreticians at the Joint Quantum Institute (JQI), a collaboration of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Maryland, and their colleagues in India and the George Mason University, now believe that there may be a new kind of soliton that's even more special.

a collaboration of the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the University of Maryland, and their colleagues in India and the George Mason University, now believe that there may be a new kind of soliton that's even more special.

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"In waves and optics parlance, a soliton is a single wave that retains its shape while traveling at a constant speed for significant distances. This type of wave can only happen in certain media, like water, where movement is unrestricted. For example, as a water wave moves, it tends to break and curl forward. But sometimes its forward motion is sufficient that the wave will continually catch itself and can't break, resulting in a soliton."

I first came across this word when researching for a paper on optical sensors. I came across a book in the library titled "Optical Solutions" or at least that's how I read it, and I assumed a big book on optical solutions must have a section on sensors! It took several minutes of increasingly confused attempts to find said section before I took a good look at the word "solution" and realized that it actually said "soliton." Sadly, the book did not feature any optical soliton based sensors...